Tag Archives: movies

I just came across this Kickstarter campaign today that I think the Beatles would be proud to see happen. Blackbird is a short film about a black girl trying to get into a segregated Beatles concert set in 1964 in the South.

I’m two years behind on watching Good Ol’ Freda, the story of Freda Kelly who was the Beatles Fan Club President from the very beginning and up until the very end. Until the making of this film, Freda willingly remained a silent and loyal figure in the background of the mayhem that was Beatlemania.

Good Ol’ Freda was the brainchild of Kathy McCabe and Ryan White who began a Kickstarter campaign on October 11, 2011 in hopes of raising $50,000 to make a movie telling the story of a young, naive, seventeen year old girl who fell in love with a local band in Liverpool and ended up the secretary of the greatest band the world would every know. Within one month, Kathy and Ryan were able to raise $58,000 for this project and in 2013 they release this documentary.

Maybe it was all the hype and hullabaloo that has been made about this film over the past two years, but I didn’t find it to be ‘all that’. I felt as if I spent at least 25% of the time listening to Freda, her family, friends and colleagues tell me how loyal, devoted and honest she was/is and that she would never spill any dirt about the Beatles. Hmm, so what was this movie about? From the magazine clippings about Ms. Kelly that appeared in this film, it doesn’t seem as if we were learning anything about her that hadn’t already been told during her years working for them.

This film left me a little confused as to why it was made and it’s purpose. Near the end of the movie, Freda says she finally decided to tell her story for her grand-children so they would know what she did with her life. Uh…they probably could have learned that from the four boxes of memorabilia and scrapbooks in her attic that we get to see her rifle through throughout the film.

Now don’t get me wrong…Freda is fun to watch and listen to for the 87 minutes of this film as she giggles like a young girl as she reflects back on her years with Eppy, Richie, John, Paul and George. And there is no doubt in my mind that she’s a lovely lady to meet and spend time with over tea or such, but I’m glad this movie wasn’t much longer than it already is.

If you’re a die-hard Beatles fan that has to know absolutely everything about the Fab Four, than this movie is for you and you should buy it and add it to your collection. If you’re just curious about Freda Kelly and her story, you can rent Good Ol’ Freda on Amazon for $2.99 and watch it on your laptop.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a teenage girl during the very height of Beatlemania in the mid 1960s? Well, this video of author Dee Elias lets you know how far those girls would go to get close to their favorite stars! Watch as Dee finally gets to meet Billy J. Kramer at the 2014 Fest for Beatles Fans in L.A. 50 years after she stole his sock from his hotel room WHILE HE SLEPT!

NOTE: Dee Elias was contacted by Mr. Kramer’s manager on Oct. 20th and threatened with legal action if she did not take down the above video from YouTube. She complied with (what I feel is their irrational) their request. If you’d like to know Dee’s story, please read her book.

I’m embarrassed to say that I got this movie over two months ago and am just now sitting down to write my review, but as John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

I give the writer/director a lot of credit for making this film. He’s just asking to get beaten up by Beatles fans around the world for trying to cash in. And I will admit that I thought the same thing going into watching this movie and several minutes into it.

Let Him Be is a story about a young man who comes across an old movie camera with a home movie taken at a children’s birthday party. He can’t help but notice that the guy playing guitar and singing for the kids has an uncanny resemblance to John Lennon. And that’s where the adventure begins as Tim and his girlfriend Kathleen trek across the back roads of Canada in search of the person they believe to be John Lennon.

It didn’t take long before I too was drawn into the story despite my original belief that this movie was made for the writer/director to get a piece of the big APPLE pie. But after a while I realized that the story wasn’t necessarily about Lennon. Any famous star that has left this world could be put into this tale and it would still be an outstanding tale.

This movies leaves its audience wondering, “If I was to find out that John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe or James Dean was still alive, would I out them to the public?”

Come back on February 1st to read my first review. In the meantime, feel free to sign-up for an email subscription to Beatles-Freak’s Reviews so you don’t miss a thing! Just enter your email in the box to the right.